


In the Life of the Thief and Luminary

by Call_Me_Pierrot



Category: Dragon Quest III, Dragon Quest IV, Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest XI, Persona 5, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Akira tries to understand how the heroes tick, Arusu is trying really hard to understand technology, Both Akira and Luminary are roomates, Eight is chaotic dumbass that loves animals, Gen, Luminary and Eight have different names for this fic, Making new bonds, Other smash bros. characters will show up later, Slice of Life, Slight spoilers for Dragon Quest XI and VIII, Solo is the straight man, The Luminary has the small case of shypox, slight ooc-ness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2020-09-26 05:30:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Call_Me_Pierrot/pseuds/Call_Me_Pierrot
Summary: With the new heroes invited to Smash, Akira’s curiosity was piqued when one of them became his new roommate. The kid seemed harmless when not in the fighting mood, though it is a shame he was pretty quiet compared to the other three.Why was Akira so interested in the first place? Funny thing is, it all started when the Luminary had a nightmare.





	1. Avalon

Akira was not picky when it came to sharing rooms. At one point in his life, he opted to share his room with his new friend turned ally who had nowhere to live during his stay with Sojiro, but sadly it only lasted for one day before Yusuke decided to stay at the dorms instead.

So when he heard that he was going to have a new roommate, Akira became slightly curious.

“The Hero” or at least one of the heroes with a mumbled name during the ceremony, is the one chosen for the roommate title. He is polite and almost too formal for someone his age when he did talk; but other than that he was harmless. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for this newcomer…

Until one night when he had a nightmare.

Still in the state of mild slumber, Akira remembered hearing the moaning and groaning of the poor boy sleeping in the other bed. Akira remembered how heartbreaking it sounded when he sobbed until it slowly drifted away.

Akira didn’t hear much else. Except he did feel a bit of weight on him that was heavier than Morgana, and by the next morning he found the young hero sleeping next to him with an iron grip on his arm.

To say he was confused was an understatement. Though neither of them mentioned the incident as they went on to do their daily activities. However, the moment still lingered in the back of their minds.

By the time the afternoon arrived, the thief had spotted the perfect haired teen walking by during his coffee making job and motioned for him to come over.

The hero did just that. However, when Akira tried to break the ice about the situation, he cut himself short when he noticed that the other had covered his face with both hands and making incoherent noises...Was he embarrassed?

“Hey…” The boldest of the two tried to coax him to calm down. “It’s alright. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. If you want, you can pick any of the drinks on the board and I’ll make one for you. Sound good?”

The shy one nodded seconds later and quietly picked the first choice. Straight up black coffee? Perfectly doable, but a mildly odd choice to pick just that. And when he did serve it, the teen happily enjoyed the drink with a smile. 

“Glad to see you’re looking better...Uh…”

“Avalon,” Came the mumbled reply. “My name ‘s Avalon.”

Finally, a name to go with a face.

“Kurusu, Akira.” Akira said with a warm smile.

Eventually through their small talk, both Akira and Avalon made matters up from their little morning mishap and became good friends from here on out.

And if Avalon were to have another nightmare, Akira wouldn’t hesitate to help him when needed.


	2. Observations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Avalon are slowly bonding.
> 
> Arusu and Devin (Eight) make an appearance.
> 
> Also there's a fire.

That...Hurt far more than it should. Just yesterday, he had defeated Avalon in one split second after he had used Hocus Pocus, fortunately to Akira’s sudden rise in luck. However, by the next day, Avalon quickly turned the tables and casted Thwack to finish him off. 

Akira was impressed. Though the aftereffects of the spells still stung.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Avalon shyly asked as they walked. “D’you need to see Doctor Mario?”

“It’s nothing that a plate of hot curry could fix. So that and some coffee will be all I need. What about you? Feel up for eating?”

Stopping mid-step, Avalon gazed at Akira curiously. “Well, I’ve never had curry before so I wouldn’t mind trying some.”

The former Phantom Thief smiled as he messed with the other’s hair. “Good answer! I’m not one for bragging, but I can make a pretty decent curry! Sakura-San taught me well on that! C’mon, the kitchen should be close by.”

-

The kitchen was indeed close, but what they did not expect was the “small” fire emerging from inside. Fire alarms were going off everywhere and with Akira’s quick thinking of using baking soda, the kitchen was saved from any further damage. Thank god.

The culprits, on the other hand, named Arusu and Devin, still have a lot to explain.

“So...What happened?” Avalon started.

“...That would be my fault,” Arusu confessed. “I must admit, I truly have no idea how any of these things work. The next thing I know, it just caught fire.”

“And I guess that’s where I kind of came in,” Devin awkwardly chuckled. “I told Arusu here that cooking oil could be used for everything. And he did just that. He put it on that burnt frying pan over there, to that micro-thingy right here, and even that weird machine that makes roasted coffee!”

“That explains what happened to the coffee machine…” Akira muttered under his breath. So much for the dinner plan. He’ll have to make curry for Avalon another time. 

“Look, we’re really sorry for what happened. I know it’s going to take more than a clean kitchen to fix this mess. But we’ll figure something out to make it up to you, and Avie, and everyone else.”

The two heroes bowed in apology. Avalon may have accepted it, but Akira could only shake his head from all the insanity that is Monday. 

“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, I’ll have to tell the higher ups about the kitchen and then have Mario order some pizza for the rest of us.”

This caught the three’s attention. “Pizza?”

Akira started to wonder if these heroes all share one brain cell.

-

Dinner with the rest of the smash fighters was eventful as always. However, Akira considered it odd that the teens table was combined with the younger kids table. But quickly shrugged it off as he observed the four heroes closely. Arusu cautiously ate his food as if he feared it would burst into flames. Devin, on the other hand, continuously stuffed his face with each new slice while Avalon had an odd habit of folding his pizza before eating.

As for Solo, who came in a bit late, just started to dab his food with a couple of napkins with an ever present scowl on his face. Guess he wasn’t a fan of greasy foods. Suppose he couldn’t blame him.

The thief’s focus then shifted back to Avalon, who now seemed a little flushed from all the sudden attention he was getting from the younger kids. And Devin wasn’t exactly helping.

Still shy as ever. Wonder if there was a way for him to overcome it.

“Hey Joker, your food’s going to get cold if you don’t eat soon.”

Cut off from his thoughts, Akira glanced at the new person that sat on the table next to him. Or rather, a familiar cat.

“Sorry Morgana. I promise I’ll eat when I feel up for it.”

His cat companion frowned at that response. But knew very well what he was thinking. “You have that look again.”

“What look?”

“You have that look of wanting to help. I know it worked out for us in the past, but you don’t need to do this right now. Remember, we’re on vacation.”

If said vacation meant bashing heads against larger opponents, he would have agreed. Though he chose not to say it.

“I’m just observing.” Came the reply. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

It was an obvious lie. Both he and Morgana knew. Though neither of them cared as the day grew late.

It was a phantom thief’s habit--no, it was Joker’s habit to snoop into other people's affairs. He just didn’t know where to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Debating on whether to have Akira focus mainly on the Luminary, or just the heroes in general...
> 
> Also, if the heroes had a social link, what would their Arcana be?


	3. Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing brings friends closer together than a game of Pool.

“That...Does not look safe.”

“Is he really going to do it?”

“I betcha he’s gonna be fine! If not, I’ll owe you guys fifty gold!”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Please don’t start bets, Devin...”

“Just let him. I’d love to see Devin lose all of his money. Plus he still owes me from last time.”

“You’re not helping, Solo.”

“....!”

_ SMACK! _

Avalon couldn’t help but flinch from Akira’s failed attempt at scoring a point. Just a while ago,when he heard there was a gaming lounge for older fighters, he remembered Akira taking it upon himself to drag him along to scope things out. He had never seen the other’s eyes shine so brightly when spotting the gaming table known as “Pool”. Akira practically babbled on about how much he had enjoyed playing it with his friends back where he was from. It almost sounded nice. Unlike now...

Originally, it was going to be just the two of them playing, until the rest of his companions showed up onto the scene. Maybe it was a mere coincidence, but it seemed like they always knew where he was whenever he hung out with his frizzy haired roommate. And to think it only started three days ago after the kitchen accident.

“Man, that looked like that really hurts!” Devin exclaimed with concern. “Are you okay there, Akira?”

“Does he  ** _look_ ** okay to you? The kid just stabbed his ball with a stick and hit his eye!” Solo rolled his eyes as he shoved Devin aside to inspect the injury. “Lucky for you, you didn’t break anything important. But I do advise to get some ice on it soon.”

“It’s weird seeing you be so caring,” Akira grunted out while trying to push Solo’s hands away. “But I’ll be fine…”

“So I guess that means Devin owes us fifty gold each?” Arusu asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

“More like fifty gold for you and two hundred gold for me,” Solo smugly corrected, finally giving Akira some space.

“Hey!”

Before the arguments could even start, Avalon took this moment to drag Akira out of the gaming lounge to look for both a quiet spot and some ice for his friend; ignoring the confused stares he got from the other heroes as they left.

-

“Here.”

Avalon watched Akira’s expression change from pain to relief when placing a cold compress on his left eye. It might not be much, but Avalon was glad he could still be of some help when not in Erdrea. “Dr. Mario told me you need to keep it on for at least fifteen minutes before taking it off. So, please make sure not to keep it on for too long.”

“Not that I’m ungrateful or anything but…” There was a bit of hesitation in his voice, but Akira awkwardly gestured to the item on his eye in pure befuddlement while holding his glasses. “Why did you give me a slab of raw meat?”

“Sorry. It turned out we ran out of ice since early morning and I had to make due with what we have. I think I heard Little Mac’s trainer once say that using cold meat is just as good as using ice...Or maybe I heard it wrong…”

“You could have used a frozen bag of veggies, or an actual compress from Dr. Mario. You would have gotten the same result.”

“...Oh...”

Avalon could feel the heat creep up on his face when he heard Akira’s stifled laughs. Truly, he has a way to make things embarrassing, even with his self-inflicted injury. “I-I didn’t know, okay? You don’t have to rub it in!”

“Hehe, sorry. It’s just the look on your face...You’re such a dork.”

The embarrassment only got worse, but Avalon found himself laughing alongside his friend. Perhaps it was a little funny to make those small mistakes. Just as long as Akira was here, maybe his shypox will lessen over time.

“Y-you really are awful.”

“I know, I know.”

-

From outside of the doctor’s office, a familiar hero with an orange bandana watched the scene unfold, with his mouse Munchie perched on his shoulder. It looks like the both of them are getting along just fine without their interference. Guess the others were worried over nothing. 

He shook his head at the thought. He knows Arusu would be understanding, but it was going to take a while before Solo could accept it. Maybe a couple rounds of drinks will change his mind. It always does.

“We should get going Munchie. Solo can get pretty fussy if we stay too long.”

Yes. Everything will be alright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I kinda got inspired by watching Joker's character reveal trailer for Persona 5 The Royal. I guess they love to make their protagonists huge dorks whenever they can.
> 
> Also kinda regretting that I didn't name him "Ren" for this story just to give Eight an excuse to call him "Ren-Ren". Whoops. ._.;


	4. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solo tries intimidation and Akira can't deal with awkwardness well. 
> 
> Just a rather normal day when you're getting coffee at Smash Castle.

“...”

“...”

Well, this was awkward. 

Not so long ago, everything was going well. Just as soon as he opened his little coffee bar, almost everyone and their dog had showed up to make their order of coffee and tea before officially starting their day. It was a tad crowded for his taste, but Akira had suffered far worse when it came to fighting shadows...Or so he’d like to think.

By the time ten o’ clock had hit, the crowd seemed to have calmed down and only a few were choosing to sit as they enjoyed their hot beverage. Notably, it was Lucas sipping on some hot chocolate as he listened to whatever was playing on his radio, the ice climbers chatting to themselves with their own cup of joe, and Corrin--who was looking around desperately for something instead of focusing on her drink.

Everything seemed perfectly fine...Until Solo came to visit.

As soon as Corrin left, Solo took a seat, glaring intently at Akira who wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

It’s not every day a legendary hero enters your cafe...Unless you’re Avalon, or Arusu, or any other sword-wielding hero in this castle. (God damn there’s a lot of them.) 

“So...What can I get for you?” A simple question that Akira has repeated throughout his time spent at Leblanc, but it was also a good conversation starter to “break the ice”.

“Mocha.” Was Solo’s answer. He said nothing more as Akira worked on his drink.

“Would you like cream or sugar?”

“...”

“...I see…”

The silence in this room was too tense for Akira’s liking. Now that both Lucas and the Ice Climbers have left the area, the tension became almost too overwhelming. It felt like it could swallow him whole. And if he were in the Metaverse, it probably could.

“How’s the eye?”

“H-huh?” Akira had almost dropped the mug he was holding when he heard the question. Solo really did not like giving out warnings when striking an attack, both out and on the battlefield. A truly terrifying man.

“The eye from four days ago,” Solo explained. “You looked worse for wear after that ball hit you. Are you well now?”

The burnette sighed as he remembered. Avalon had good intentions, but the lingering smell of meat was hard to forget, even when trying to clean your face thoroughly before bed.

“It’s...Fading.” Akira decided to answer, now placing the mug of coffee in front of the half-Zenithian swordsman. “Still hurts when touching it.”

Solo gave a firm nod before sipping his drink.

Akira pressed on. “But something tells me that you didn’t come here to ask me just that.”

“...You’re right.” Setting down his cup, Solo stared at Akira with the same intense glare from before. “How old are you, Akira?”

“Almost seventeen.” He replied without missing a beat.

“Hmm. You’re just about the same age.”

Akira had a feeling where this was going. “You’re talking about Avalon.”

“So you know where I’m going with this. I may not know much about the kid personally--Or any of the others for that matter--but I do understand that he's been through a lot. Perhaps we all have. Which is why we all decided to stick together upon getting our invitations. And for the most part, it worked. But once we started to get to know everyone else, and Avalon started to open up...We began to worry.”

“You mean  _ you  _ began to worry.”

“Don’t push it, Frizzy. I’ll make your disappearance look like an accident.”

“Noted.” Still, Akira could not help sighing a second time. He’s been through this before with Futaba and Sojiro. It should not be as difficult when dealing with a hero. ‘Should not’ being the key word. “Avalon is doing a little better whenever we talk. It’s not perfect, but he managed to laugh it off. And whenever we’re not working on that, we have been sharing what foods we’ve tried. I think he even mentioned that he wanted to compare recipes with me once the kitchen is fixed.”

“Is that so…” Solo down the rest of his coffee before replying once more. “It’s a start. But I have my eye on you.”

“That’s probably the closest I’ll get to acceptance, so I’ll take it. Both you and Devin seem to be like the parents in your little family group. Didn’t see it at first, but now I get it. And honestly, I’m kinda jealous.”

“W-wha-? I-I’m not a-! We’re not-!” The green haired swordsman quickly cleared his throat to recollect himself, though his embarrassment still showed. He probably wasn’t used to being a full time adult. “ ...Y-you know what I mean! Just make sure the two of you don’t get into trouble…”

Who would have thought that Solo of all people would be the type to get this easily embarrassed? Not Akira, that’s for sure. And he was definitely not going to let this go. “I’ll make sure he goes straight to bed by eleven.”

“Very funny Akira, but please stop!”

-

“Hey! Morning, Akira!”

Ah good. A cheery voice was very much welcomed after the encounter with Solo. Looking up from cleaning the counter, Akira saw two familiar heroes that were not present during the morning rush: Devin and Avalon. The two always seemed to be the late risers of the group. Not that Akira was taking any mental notes, but it was either this or he had to drag Avalon out of bed for training. 

Akira greeted the two with a simple “hey” as they took their seats. “I take it you want the usual?”

“You know us so well! Isn’t that right, Avie?”

The luminary ignored his companion to smile at his roommate. “G’morning. Sorry for not waking up early.”

Akira waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. Yesterday’s training took a lot out of us. It was best to let you sleep in just a little while longer.”

“And yet you still get up at the crack of dawn,” Devin said with disbelief. “How do you manage all of this, AND still be wide awake?”

“If you want to know, I do this out of sheer spite against my enemies to motivate me.” Akira then served the two their drinks with a calm smile, regardless of what he was saying. “And it works every time.”

“Actually, it’s his cat and plants that are the true motivators,” Avalon whispered to Devin. “And I think it’s really cute.”

“Really? That does sound pretty adorable!”

“It could be all three. But I don’t think you trying to embarrass me is your strong point, Avalon. I can do that all on my own. But if you really want to practice, then by all means, tease Solo as much as you can. You might get a rise out of him.”

Avalon shook his head. “Thanks, but I’d rather not…”

“I think I’ll give it a shot! It could be fun!” Devin chirped, until a sudden thought occurred to him. “Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve seen him at all today. Hey Aki, did Solo happen to stop by?”

“He was here a while ago to…’interrogate’ me.”

And this is where Devin almost spat out his drink. “Wha-? Seriously? And I told him everything was fine! He didn’t scare you or anything, did he, Aki?”

Ignoring the cutesy nickname, Akira answered. “It’s fine. If anything, I saw a different side to him. It was rather interesting.”

“Solo being interesting...That’s a new one…” Devin had muttered before going back to his coffee. “But if he did accept you, then I guess things are fine.”

“But if you really want to know, just give me a tip. And I’ll tell you what makes him tick.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to put a raincheck on that one. Maybe some other time?”

Before Akira could answer, the announcer’s voice filled the air, reminding everyone about the upcoming match between King K. Rool, Snake, and Joker--himself. Which was in about ten minutes.

“Huh. Didn’t think the match would be this soon. You guys better drink up fast or else I won’t make it in time.”

“No need to tell me twice! I’ll see you both there!” And with a quick gulp, Devin quickly left the two to get a close seat for the match.

“And there he goes...Without giving me a tip...I’ll be adding hot sauce into his cup the next time he visits. Remind me to do so, Avalon.”

Avalon just shook his head. Akira being petty when it comes to service was considered normal during his time here. “No promises. Anyways, good luck with your match. Me and the others will cheer you on!”

Akira smiled playfully as he ruffled his roommate’s hair. “Aww, you’re really too sweet on me. Do you wanna give me a kiss as well?”

“Akira!”

“Okay! I kid! And, thanks for supporting me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Every time I try doing this chapter, I just could not find a way to end it. So, sorry if it looks a bit off. ^^;


	5. Joker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at Akira Kurusu from the Luminary's perspective.
> 
> Why are so many people cautious around the phantom thief?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading further, this chapter takes place after the first chapter. Just want to let you know before any of you get confused.

Sometimes, Akira was hard to read, regardless of being his new roommate. 

Sure, there was that compromising situation a couple days back, however that was quickly fixed with a cup of coffee and a warm smile. And with that, it should have ended the whole misunderstanding.

Except, Akira still remains a mystery.

From behind closed doors, or from a few close corners, there were some...whispers. Unwanted whispers about the highschooler that Avalon did not intend to hear. Something about a criminal record…?

And that was a bad thing? Avalon already obtained one when he first left Cobblestone. (Probably didn’t help when both he and Erik had escaped from the dungeons, but that's besides the point.)

Soon after the rumor came out, and hearing about his ability to “steal hearts”, fighters that lean towards dark than light, have tried recruiting the boy with the promise of greatness, but he politely refused every time.

Then there was that time when Arusu had accidentally broke the main TV, much to the rage of many competitors. Since no one knew it was the swordsman’s doing, many had blamed the frizzy haired teen for the whole thing. And yet, even knowing that Arusu was the culprit, Akira took the blame without much of a complaint.

Avalon remembered asking why Arusu didn’t speak up to defend Akira, to which he replied with being too scared to come forward until the damage was done. (They weren’t on speaking terms soon after, until he properly apologised.)

_ “He may be your roommate, but I must advise you not to speak with him unless needed.”  _ He remembered being told those words from a fellow companion one afternoon while stuck with a cup of juice instead of the usual mead. As much as he wanted to protest, the Luminary pressed his lips together into a firm line; irritated that he couldn’t fight back unless his shypox decided to kick in without much of a warning.

He really hated feeling helpless.

-

“You don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me, you know.”

Avalon found himself in the company of Akira during one lazy morning. They were currently in the greenhouse where the frizzy teen was attending to his plants. “If you believe the rumors to be true, I can always let the higher ups know and give you a different room. Don’t worry about me though, I’m already used to it.”

“Used to it?” Avalon found himself repeating. “This...has happened before?”

“It happened back when I was forced to move into the city but…” Akira then shook his.head as he placed the watering can down. “That’s a story for another time.”

Akira had smiled to ease others into believing everything was alright, Avalon included. But it only ended up raising more questions than answers. And he feared about asking them would lead to overstepping his boundaries to an already frail bond.

“I...I know you’re not a bad person!” He said it with so much certainty that Akira stared at him with an unreadable expression. “I-if anything, you’re very hardworking and caring for others! If any of that wasn’t true, you wouldn’t have protected Arusu a-a-and--!”

And just his luck, Avalon’s shypox was starting to bubble up and choke on his words before he could finish them. He felt so stupid while trying so hard to give his roommate some words of encouragement that it became all too embarrassing to continue. Was he crying? Oh gods, he was crying…

“Avie? Are you okay, Avie? It’s alright, Avalon. You can look at me.”

He really did not want to, but against his better judgement, the Luminary peeked from his hands to look at the phantom thief. For the first time in a long while, Akira gave a genuine smile. “I understand. You don’t need to say any more.”

_ Oh, thank goodness!  _ Avalon thought, relieved that Akira understood the gesture on what was being said. Surely, things will slowly go back to normal.

“Oi Avalon, you’re still shedding tears. I take it it’s from the shypox overload?”

“Mmhm.”

“Do you want me to make some coffee to cheer us up?”

“Mmhm.”

“Alright.”

Hopefully, things will only get better from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Akira has to drink juice due to being underage, then the Luminary will have to follow the same rules in Smash Castle since both of them are the same age...
> 
> Makes you wonder what are the age drinking rules at Smash Bros?

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of started this fic after noticing there was very little hero content in the Smash Bros. section. And also because the idea of Joker befriending heroes with different personalities is a weakness of mine. ^^;
> 
> As for couples...I think I'll imply some if the story calls for it.


End file.
